Dwight Howard will be the center of attention when free agency begins July 1. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

The billboards were a nice touch, those purple and gold pleas all over Los Angeles aimed at convincing Dwight Howard to stay with the Lakers.

The photo-shopped pictures of Howard's image on some of the most iconic spots in town were creative, as is the full-page ad that the Lakers plan on running in the Los Angeles Times. The words of support from his Lakers bosses have been on point, too, with general manager Mitch Kupchak deeming the free-agent-to-be big man the Lakers' future yet again with the hopes that the message will make a difference.

But if Howard handles his free agency this week like those close to him claim he will, the irony that will likely leave the Lakers losing out here is about to be revealed: It's not nearly as much about the business anymore for the big man who so badly wanted to be in a big market, but about the basketball.

It took coming to Los Angeles for him to see why the premise that had so much to do with him leaving Orlando was so flawed. He realized that winning trumps market size when it comes to the factors that control the way a player is perceived and treated. Add in the always-overbearing presence of Kobe Bryant, and Howard learned the hard way that Laker Land wasn't all he had hoped it would be.

He came back too soon from a back surgery that could have forced him to miss the entire season. He then put up some of the best numbers of anyone during the second half of the season only to be virtually ignored when the individual accolades were being decided. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year finished 14th in this year's voting and was third-team All-NBA. The Lakers didn't win enough, had far too much dysfunction and negativity, and so he paid the price along with anyone not named Kobe (first-team All-NBA).

But Howard's confidantes say this will be different, that he'll study the respective merits of Houston, the Lakers, Dallas, Atlanta and Golden State based on how he can win a championship and look forward to whatever level of acclaim comes as a result. Or, as he put it to USA TODAY Sports during a mid-March interview in his Bel-Air home, "A lot of people say the grass is greener on the other side â?¦ and I would always come back to them saying, 'If you do the right things, buy your own grass, then it'll always be green.'"

He had to go to the other side in order to learn that lesson, of course, but all's well that ends well. If, like so many league executives expect, Howard puts his roots down with the Rockets based on the right reasons, then the Dwight-mare will have ended in a much more palatable way than it began. He will have ignored the indisputable advantages that come with staying with the Lakers â?? a five-year, $117.9 million deal as compared with a four-year deal worth approximately $88 million with any other team; the marketing opportunities that none of the other competing teams can compete with â?? in order to pursue a fit that just feels right.

While plans can always change, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports that the Rockets are scheduled to have the first meeting with Howard at the start of the free agency period: 9:01 p.m. Pacific time in Los Angeles. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the schedule was not announced. According to a second person with knowledge of the situation, the Warriors and Hawks are expected to meet with Howard in Los Angeles on Monday, followed by the Mavericks and Lakers on Tuesday. The person also spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans had not been announced.

The Rockets will sell a future that looks bright even without him; James Harden, Chandler Parsons, Jeremy Lin and the like are already up-and-comers in the Western Conference. They'll detail the much talked-about state tax discussion; Texas doesn't have one like California does and thus Howard can recoup some of those lost funds.

Should the schedule stay as is, Monday will be the day for the dreamers â?? the brass from the upstart Warriors thrilled to be invited to this sort of recruiting party and the Hawks well aware that their odds of bringing Howard back to his hometown are extremely slim. Then comes Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and his always-impressive panache, with a future Hall of Famer in Dirk Nowitzki to sell and a promise to make moves quickly to turn it all around. Finally, the Lakers will have to get past all the glitter of their campaign and discuss the complex issues between them and Howard that were so evident last season.

Players can't sign contracts until July 10, but there will likely be clarity in Howard's world long before that point. And then finally, mercifully, he will make a decision about his long-term future. The team that wins his services may well put a billboard up in his honor, but that's not what this will be about. Unless, that is, it's a picture of Howard holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy.